West Coast Chains – Page 2

4/27/2009 Reviews Los Angeles

A Late-Night Snack at Del Taco

While never my first choice in late-night food, Del Taco is sometimes just too damn convenient to go anywhere else.

Despite the obvious Mexican origins of it’s name, Del Taco eschews the Mexican fast food norm by tossing in a few American favorites, like fries and burgers.

These additions definitely help cater to the late-night crowd like me, but they also take away a bit of Del Taco’s identity. When I go to a Taco Bell, I know I’m getting Mexican food, but when I go to Del Taco, I can’t be sure of what sort of food I’ll be ordering until I get there.

I found that a good combo involves a selection from their value menu.

American Burgers Del Taco Fast Food Franchises Los Angeles Meat Mexican Restaurants West Coast Chains

4/21/2009 Reviews Santa Monica

Customizing at the Counter

The customizable meal has always been one of my favorites. From pizza to stir-fry, I’ve always felt that it is one of the best ways to eat. It’s basically how you would make something if you had all the ingredients yourself. The unfortunate side-effect is that if you don’t like the food, it’s your own fault. The Counter has taken the customizable concept to burgers.

Their amazing array of ingredients and choices gives and unvegan like me a world of opportunities. Of course, they have lettuce, pickles and tomatoes, but there are enough non-vegetables to really make it an unvegan burger. I ordered the 1/3 pound beef burger with, bacon, herb goat cheese, pineapples and dried cranberries. For my sauce, I got the sweet BBQ on the side (learning my lesson from last time that it is easier to dip a burger than to try to find a place for sauce on it).

American Burgers Food Hamburgers Los Angeles Meat Restaurants Santa Monica The Counter West Coast Chains

3/20/2009 Reviews Manhattan Beach

Free Eats at Jack in the Box

Hard to go wrong with free fries... — Hard to go wrong with free fries…

While not one of my preferred restaurants (if you can call it that), Jack in the Box recently had a promotion for free medium curly fries, so I took a ride down Sepulveda to take advantage.

Knowing the fries wouldn’t be enough, I got myself a few extra items from the menu. The first choice was two tacos for 99 cents. zenescorts.ch. The value in this is unbelievable, even though I had to get them without lettuce. The meat is certainly not of the highest quality and they use melted American cheese, but still, 99 cents.

On top of that, I got the Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger. Another great value. Trying to mix up the meats, I added a chicken sandwich to the load, completing my multi-ethnic, multi-meat meal. The chicken sandwich usually comes with lettuce, so I had to make a special arrangement to get it without.

Burgers Fast Food Franchises Jack in the Box Late-Night Meat Restaurants West Coast Chains

3/18/2009 Reviews Marina del Rey

Braving the Recession at Rubio’s

Maybe the recession ain't so bad... — Maybe the recession ain’t so bad…

In a world crumbling under the pressure of mounting recession and potential depression, deals can be found aplenty. Well, that is assuming you still have enough money to eat. When I went to Rubio’s in Marina Del Rey, they were offering up a little recession combo that I decided to take advantage of. This was two street tacos, chips, beans and a 20 oz. drink for only $5.

The choice of taco innards was up to me, so I got one with steak and one with chicken. They came with guacamole and an unfortunate mix of onions and cilantro. I would have liked the cilantro, but it was all or nothing and I couldn’t risk having onions on my tacos.

Fast Food Franchises Los Angeles Marina Del Rey Meat Mexican Restaurants Rubio's West Coast Chains

2/13/2009 Reviews Los Angeles

In-N-Out Burger

unvegan in-n-out — It’s no 4×4, but it’ll do.

California has more than its fair share of things to claim for itself. The state is proud of these things. Some (like skateboarding) for no apparent reason, but others are good reason to give California bragging rights. One of these things is In-N-Out Burger, the fast food that never fails to please.

In-N-Out breaks the rules of the traditional fast food restaurants. Even people who say they don’t eat fast food go to In-N-Out. Their menu is so basic that they need a secret menu to make people happy. The drive-thru lines protrude so far beyond the land that has been zoned to them that they have people walk outside to take orders. So it’s a pretty unique place, but what about the food?

American Burgers Fast Food Food In-N-Out Meat Restaurants West Coast Chains

12/4/2008 Reviews Los Angeles

Coco’s (CLOSED)

Fruit makes for an excellent vegetable replacement.

Coco’s and I have a long and interesting history. A few years ago, I lived in Japan and a Coco’s was attached to my building. Coco’s (pronounced Cocosu in Japanese) was a Japanese attempt at American food and despite the fact that it wasn’t at all like American food, it was still pretty decent. We had a healthy relationship and I even had the frequent diner card. When I returned from Japan, Coco’s and I took a break, we couldn’t handle the distance and I had no knowledge of Coco’s in America. That all changed when I found a Coco’s on Pico and Robertson in LA. I went in with great expectations that would be impossible to meet.

American Food Franchises Los Angeles Meat Restaurants Steak West Coast Chains

The Unvegan

Recent Posts

10 Years of Unvegan

A Quick Bite at Burrito Express

Serendipity at Northern Waters Smokehaus

Twerks and Burritos at Casa Amigos